F 198 
.U33 
Copy 1 



PREFACE. 

The following, documents, (having been much sought 
lor, although one of them has been partially publish- 
ed,) are siven to inform the public more correctly and fully 
on a subject highly interesting to our City. The tvro first 
opinions were oflicially communicated to the Board of 
Aldermen, at its lequest: the last is unofficial. Whilst ar- 
gumentative, able, and conclusive, it will be seen that 
they are temperate, decorous and respectful; containing nei- 
ther crimination or recrimination, in a case which has exci- 
ted the general disapprobation, reprehension and disgust, of 
the community, against certain individuals already too well 
distinguished to require to be named here. As the official opin- 
ions are in possession of the Board and not directed to be 
published we could not procure them. After repeated applica- 
tions, the substance and so much of the form as w^as con- 
tained in loose notes and memoranda in the hands of the 
authors have been procured: but, although in principle and 
substance they are, generally speaking, the same as the 
official reports; they are certainly less perfect in form, if 
not otherwise. The variation in either it is presumed, 
however, is not material as respects the merits of the ques- 
tions discussed or decided. 

Mr. Coxes' opinion is added to those of the Mayor and 
and law officer of the Corporation from a desire to give 
every information; from our high opinion of his profession- 
al standing; and because, from his well known politics, (the 
worst of both political and personal feelings having enter- 
ed into a contest, which has already produced, and is daily 
accumulating, various public inconvenience and injury,) it 
cannot be supposed that he was at all biassed or influenced 
by any other considerations than those which belong to the 
case itself. Comments have been deemed unnecessary if 
not improper. 



RESOLUTION, AUGUST 8, 1830, 

"Resolved by the Board of Alderman that the Ma5''or bo 
<*and he is hereby respectfully requested to lay before this 
"Board at its next meeting];, his opinion as well as 
"the opinion of the law officer of the Corporation, or 
"in case of his absence from the City, of any other per- 
"son learned in the law, as to the power vested by tha 
"present laws in the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to fill 
"the office of Collector of taxes for the third and fourtli 
"wards, vacated by the dimissal of Joseph Ingle late, Collec- 
"tor, so as legally and effectually to provide for the collec- 
"tion of the taxes due in said wards, for the remainder of 
"the current year.'' 



23 19i; 



MESSAGE 



or 



:Plai>oc of tijc ©its of aaaasijinflton, 

ithspectmg the Removal of the Collector of the Third 
and Fourth Wards, 



Mayor's Office, August 23d, 1830. 
To THE Board of Aldermen: 

The resolution of your Board, communicated to me a, 
^ew days since, requesting my opinion "as to the power 
*' vested by the present laws in the Mayor and Board of AI- 
*'dermen to fill the office of Collector ofTaxesforthe Third 
*'and Fourth Wards, vacated by the dismissal of Joseph In- 
"gle late Collector, so as legally and effectually to provide for 
"the collection of the taxes due in said wards, for the remain- 
"der of the current year," has had that consideration to 
which it is entitled, from its infringe importance, from the 
public character and respectability of the Board, and from 
the honor done me by the request. 

I shall proceed, without technicality or formality, (for I 
posess sneither) to give my convictions on this subject, and 
some of the reflections and reasons which have conducted 
me to them : and if, in doing so, I am occasionally crude and 
obscure, I must trust to that indulgence which the Board 
will politely extend to one not habituated to writing, and 
still anxious to elucidate a subject on which both are desi- 
rous to be informed, however awkwardly it may be done. 

Had the Board been a little more definite, and precise, 
specifying the particular points on which doubts existed, 
they would probably not have been exposed to the inconve- 
nience of reading a great part of this reply ; but having pre- 
sented to mc only the general terms "IcgaW/ and effectu- 



ally,'^ without any specification or indication, I must neces« 
sarii y be more broad and difluse, than would •therw isu have 
bee» required. 

The question of the right of removal, as well as that of 
the actuid removal, not being distinctly presented by the 
letter of the resolution, but rather admitted, 1 shall not in- 
troduce nther, except, perhaps, collaterally, as in some de- 
gree connected with the general subject. And iiere permit 
me to obseive, that it j.,ives me pleasure to find that, not- 
withstanding the temporarj ehects, not unusual, of the ex- 
citements of a receni animated election, on those who took 
a warm interest in it — there is not, at this moment, a single 
grave doub!. of the existence of that power which the City 
Councjis themselves, after many years experience and prac- 
tice of our local s\ -tern of legislation, applied for by a for- 
mal i.nd solemn official act, and which Congress conferred 
in terms as explicit, unequivocal, definite, and conclusive, as 
larguuge can furnish. Assuming, then, the admission of the 
right of removal, as well as of the fact of the vacancy, I 
shall proceed to the questions propounded in the resolution. 
As to one branch of thr proposition; viz : ''The power vest- 
"ed by the present laws in the Mayor and Board of Alder- 
" men, to fill the office of Collector of Taxes for the 3d and 
"4ih wards vacated by the dismissal of Joseph Ingle." I 
might abruptly say the act of our incorporation — of our 
creation — from which alone we derive all our powers, and 
which prescribes our duties, by which alone ''we live, move, 
and have our being," says the Mayor "shall nominate, and, 
*' with the consent of the Board ol Aldermen appoint, to all 
"offices under the Corporation, (except Commissioners of 
"Elef'tion.") Here, then, is a perfect case for the exercise of 
this power. An office under the Corporation (other than 
that of Commissioner of Election) as vacant as if it had nev- 
er been filled. The dffice is created for important public pur- 
poses, and it is our duty to fill it. The Charter gives the "full 
"power and authority to la} and collect taxes;" "and to pass 
"all laws which shall be deemed necessary and proper lor car- 
"rying into execution the powers vested by this act in the 
"said r ;rporat on or its officers." Our Legislative body, act- 
lUj., under this creating, and controlling law, and for the very 
purpose of carrying its provisions into eflfect, has this law 
upon its table— its eye fixed upon it at every step. Has that 
bodv then, under such circumstances, left any difficulty, any 
contingency, unprovided for, that might embarrassor coun- 
teract the full exercise of that power which is the first in 



rank and importance of those specified in our charter, aua 
which is absolutely inilispensabJe for our corporate exis- 
tence? They knew, they saw if every glance at our funda- 
mental law, which they were sacredly and solemnly bound 
bv more obligations than one, to execute and maintain, that 
the Collector was removable, "at the will and pleasure of 
"the Mayor. " Nay, I repeat their ovvn experience had 
tau'^ht them the necessity of that power ; and to their sol- 
emn application it was granted. Are they, then, justly ob- 
noxious to the charaie of havinsr nei^lected or omitted to 
provide, in their tax code, for the contingeucy of tne re- 
moval of a Collector, or of leaving that code so doubtful of 
eonstruction as to admit of the possibility of evil or embir- 
ras>ment ? Vhe patriotism, the virtue, the public spint, the 
information and talents, as well as the self interest of the 
councils forbid or refute the charges. .There is in realit}- no 
such difficulty or embarrassment, as a brief review and a 
fai" construction of the laws of the Corporation will prove. 
In douig this we must keep in mind that laws are mainly to 
be interpreted by their context, subject matter, effects and 
consequences, and their reason and spirit ; words are aUvays 
to be considered and construed with a regard to those. It 
has not escaped me that the '■'•present laws^^ are particular- 
ly enquired for; but, besides that the origin and progress 
of our legislation on this subject, are interesting, as to its 
general policy and plan, and useful for the purposes of illus- 
tration and explanation, it must be remembered that the 
^^present laws^^ consist not only of late enactments ; but 
also of all former ones, not repealed, either directly or in- 
directly : and there are several such. 

With the rules just laid down before us, which are oF 
the highest authority of our most profound jurists, (and they 
are the maxims and principles of reason and common sense 
as well, as of law) let us look into our laws. Without re- 
curring to those early numerous instances of changes of 
systems, of laws, and of offices, at the commencement, the 
middle, and end of the year, which crowd our statute book, 
I will begin with the law of Oct 30th, 1810, entitled <'an 
*'act for the appointment of ward Collectors, and for other 
"purposes," The Mayor is here authorized to appoint col- 
lectors, to continue in office ^ '■until the 2d Monday in June 
'■^next, and annually thereafter, to continue in office for 
^'ontyear In this act there is no express provision for the 
contingency of a vacancy from any cause whuteoer ; yet 
will it be contended that a vacancy caused by death could 



4 

not have been filled by the Mayor, who had then the sole 
appointing power ? Was it the intention of, and the prac- 
tice under, that act that the whole collecting machinery 
should, in case of a vacancy, stand still until the end of the 
current year, or that the legislature should be assembled to 
provide for every individual case ? Certainly not. By this 
act the Collectors are to return monthly accounts, and to 
make monthly payments to the Register and the bank ; a 
provision never repealed or annulled. The Collector, pre- 
vious to his entering on the duties of his office, was to enter 
into bond "diligently, faithfully, and honestly, to execute, 
"perform, and fulfil all the duties required ot him by this act , 
"or which may be imposed on him by any future act or acts 
*'of the said City Council " This provision is still in force= 
By the law of October, 1816, entitled an act supplemen- 
tary to "an act for the appointment of ward Collectors, and 
"other purposes," the JNlayor, (Sec. 1,) was "authorized and 
"required to appoint, on or about the \st of January next, 
^^ ad annually thereafter, and also whenever a vacancy 
*' shall happen by death, resis;mttion, or otherwise, Collec- 
"tors of the taxes due this Corporation; which appointment 
"shall be submitted to the Board of Aldermen, at their first 
"session thereafter. 

"Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of said Collectors to do and 
"perform all such matters and things, which have [been,} 
^^or may be, imposed on them by the laws of the Corpora- 
"tion, to collect all taxes placed intheirrespective handsby 
"the Register, and deposit all moneys by them received, on 
"or before the 1st day of every month," ^'C. 

What C')llectors were to perform this duty of collecting 
and depositing the taxes, which was the object and purpose 
of the law ? Assuredly either those in the first iyistance 
appointed, or those that were afterwards to be appointed 
upon the occurrence of vacancies. Both are equally com- 
prehended by the express letter of the law, and much more 
so, still, by its spirit and intention. It was neither absurd- 
ly supposed by the law that a Collector would act after his 
death, or that the collections and deposits should cease upon 
such an event, when it is said, (Sec. 3,) that "all future ap- 
•'pointQients of Collectors shall cease and determine on the 
"3 1st December annually." The true meaning of the law is 
that the term of office shall not exceed that day, whether 
the appointment, were original or to fill a vacancy. To 
that day the term was to extend, if not abridged by unax'oid- 
able causes. The law did not preposterously mean to com- 



pel the incumbent to live to the 31st December, or not to 
resi2;n until that day; or, whatwns cquaily out of its power, 
to deprive the Mayor of the rie;ht of removal ; or to pre- 
vent the Councils themselves from intermediately legisla- 
ting him out of office, as they had before done in similar 
cases, and is a familiar practice in all Governments, both 
great and small; or in case of either of those conting;encits 
say within ten days after his orig;inal appointment, that there 
could be no other appointment — thus defeating the whole 
object of the law, and violating its previous provisions. 
The power of removal had, but a moment before, been ex- 
pressly recognised in the same law; and, besides flying in 
the face of the charter, it would have been absurd and incon- 
sistent now to deny it, and a want of prudence to leave the 
public interest unguarded against any injurious effects of its 
exercise. Every appointment is necessarily, as to its dura- 
tion, within the term of a year, a conditional one. Tiie 
Corporation knows it — the Collector knows it : every law, 
therefore, relative to his conduct and duties — every step ta- 
ken by him, has constantly in view that condition. Neitii- 
er the Councils or the officer can defeat or evade it. The 
last mentioned law proceeds, "And it shall be the duty of 
"the said Collectors within ten days o/ter the expiration 
'^ of t fie time they shall respectively act as snch, to return 
"to the '^Register the list of taxes for the preceding year 
<' which had been placed in their hands for collection: and 
" if any Collector shall fail to make return of the lists afore- 
"said within the time herein limited for that purpose, he 
"shall forfeit and pay the sum of '^lOO to the Corporation ; 
" and it shall also be their duty, within the same period of 
*' ten days, to settle their respective accounts with the Reg- 
'*'istei." Can anything be more definite and conclusive 
than a part of this language to prove that the law was to ap- 
ply to the subject at the end of the Collector's service, 
whenever that should legally be ? It would not be difficult 
for a literary critic to point out, now and then, a word, or 
even a phrase in this law, as well as in others, not the 
most literally appropriate to express the intended idea : but 
take the whole context of the law ; consider its subject and 
object ; its reason and spirit ; make the different parts, in 
substance and effect, consistent with each other ; and where 
is there any room for a solitary doubt that it meant the ap- 
pointment could be terminated by removal^ as well as anv 
other means ; that the late incumbent is, in such case un- 
der the same obligation to return the lists, settle his Jicconnis 



6 

<S'c,, as il the nominal term of a year had expired ? It is 
not necessary for lawmakers to be hyperorilics : if it were 
so, the true and substantial interests of the community 
would be in bad keeping. 

I pass on to the law of August 1819, "imposing an annu- 
"al tax and providing for the collection thereof." Not one of 
the previous provisions relating to the subject before us, was 
thereby repealed; although the duties of the collector are 
♦;onsiderably increased and modified. 

Next comes the law of Nov. 1820, entitled " An act pro- 

•'viding for the appointment of Collectors of Taxes in the 

"'City of Washington. " This law. whilst varying the 

number of collectors (discharging in the midst of a 

term a part of the incumbents) enacted " that it shall 

" be, and it is hereby declared to be, the duty of the 

"Mayor, on or about the 1st of January next, and on or 

"about the 1st of January, annually thereafter, and also 

*' whenever a vacancy shall happen by death, resignation, 

*^ removal or otherwise, to nominate, and by and with the 

'* advice and consent of the Board of lldermen, to appoint 

Collectors," &c. They are to perform the '"duties now im- 

"posed on the several Ward Collectors." They are, "before 

'* entering on their duties to execute bond with the condi- 

"tions required by existing laws on the subject." (See the 

condition given above in the act of IS I 0, never repealed or 

annulled.) By the 4th sec. it is made "the duty of the 

*' Register to place in the hayids of the Collectors the whole 

** amount of taxes, (the lists) for collection, according to the 

"rule prescribed by the laws of this Corporation, on or be- 

*'fore the 1st January annually, and to cause their accounts 

♦•to be settled on or about the 1st January annually." 

Here is evidently the nominal and general term of the 
appointment given. It waste continue so long, if not inter- 
rupted or abridged by any legal actor cause. It had already 
been admitted that vacancies by removal and other causes 
miglit happen ; and they had been in part expressly provi- 
ded for : — surely it was not the intention of this section now 
to deny that a vacancy might thus occur, and the nominal 
term be thereby shortened. This would be absurd in itself 
as well as inconsistent with the previous part of the same 
law, as likewise with the fundamental and controlling act 
of incorporation. The obvious import and meaning is, that 
when the collector shall cease to hold the office, his accounts 
shall be settled ; not that if he dies, resigns, or be rernoved 
his accounts shall remain in statu ^rwo until the first of Jan- 



uary afterwards ! Whoever, indeed, happens to be the iu- 
cumbenl for the latter part of the precedingyear, must set- 
tle on or about the 1st of January. So, as to the delivery 
of the tax lists, it is to be done by the Register to the Col- 
lec'.or when he shall enter on the duties of his office, which 
is nominally and generally, on or about the 1st of January : 
but may be varied in point of time, according to the legal 
and unavoidable contingencies of death, resignation, j'eniov- 
al, Sf-c. Let us for a moment suppose (an extreme case) that 
the Mayor and Bo. rd of Aldermen were so regardless of 
their oaths, of their duty, and the public interest, at the 
commencement of any year, as not to make an appointniCnt 
of a Collector until the 1*^ of July ensuing; would the 
Register for that leason be exonerated from the duty of 
delivering the lists or books because the law directs him 
to do it "on or about the first of January V^ 

Whenever there is a constitutional principle stated or 
clearly recognised in a law, every subordinate provision, all 
its practical details, relating to the same general subject, 
must besupposedto be intended by thelaw itself to conform or 
yield to that principle. If the right of removal and appoint- 
ment to the vacancy are thus recognised, then the right to 
do every thing necessary to enable the successor to exe- 
cute the duties of the office in like manner as the prede- 
cessor was enabled to do them, during his incumbency, is 
irresistibly to be inferred or implied. The tax lists are 
})ul)lic property : they are ''placed in the hands of the Col- 
lectors" to facilitate and effectuate the great object of the 
law, the collection of the taxes. After removal, tlie late 
incumbent is no more a Collector, than he was before lii.v 
appointment : and, is no longer entitled to the list, except 
so far as it may be necessary to a prompt settlement of 
his accounts. To use the language of the law "they are 
''placed in the hands of the Collector;" and it shall be his 
duty, within ten days after the expiration, of the time 
he shall have acted as such '"fo return to the Register 
''the list of taxes.'' <§'C. 

The law of May 24th„ 1S22, supplementary to that lasi. 
quoted, makes it "the duty of the several Collectors of 
" Taxes in the City of Washington, to render on or 
"before the first day of December in each year, to the 
"Register tlieir respective accounts: show ing the wliole 
"amount collected, and from whom, the amount deposited 
"in the City Treasury ; the amount of taxes remaining un- 
"coUected, and by whom due ; and the reasons u liy such 



{ax.u3 liiive nut been coiiected ; and it shall be the duty of 
iiie Register, as soon ys such accounts shall have been ren- 
dered to him, to audit, examime and adjust the same, and 
report the results to the Mayor," <§*c. 

The purpose of this law is, only, advantageously to alter 
the day on or before which the duties previously en- 
joined are now to be performed; and to be more particular 
,ukI strict in the requisition for the accounts of Collectors. 
Those who should then be in office were annually to ac- 
count on the first of December, and not on the first of 
January, as before. None of the principles or enactments 
of the law, applicable to the present case, were at all vari- 
ed from pre-existing ones. 

I am not aware of any subsequent or other law, having 
a material bearing on the subject under consideration : if 
there be any, the Board will be pleased to supply the omis- 
sion, and graduate their estimate of the arguments addu- 
ced in this opinion, according to the additional matter they 
may find. 

Take, then, these laws separately; is there any one of 
them which does, according to the rules of reason and com- 
mon sense, nay — according to the soundest doctrines of le- 
gal construction and interpretation, militate against the 
conclusion that the case is a plain one, to which the exis- 
ting laws are fully competent? But take them altogether, 
is parts of a whole system upon the important subject to 
which they apply, (and this would perhaps be the fairest 
way to consider them,) and is not the conclusion the same? 

To an external and general observer, one whose time 
and engagements do not admit of close examination or in- 
jnvestigation, or to one unde- the influence of passion or 
prejudice, however honest, who may have met with a few 
ambiguous or careless detached words, or even sentences, 
such as are apt to float on the surface of almost every sub- 
ject, this may appear enveloped in a little mist or confu- 
sion, from the pile of enactments in relation to it. But, 
when it is probed, developed, and analyzed, every thing 
is perfectly lucid : doubt is dispelled : indeed, there is 
scarcely room for argument itself. The petty verbal criti- 
cisni and sophistry which have been dealt in, out of doors, 
are as much beneath the notice as the dignity of the Board, 
and are insulting to the good sense of the people whom we 
represent. 

1 have to. my surprise heard it whispered or suggested 
^at there is, or has been an idea, that the romoval, or a 



new appointment, would, as to the results, have something 
of an ex post facto character, > r operation in it. To 
whom or how, and in what respect, can such a principle 
apply? Whence can such a consequence arise? I'here is 
not even an alteration of the law since Mr Ingle's appoint- 
ment. He, as well as his sureties, knew then that his re- 
moval at any time would be legal. They knew that the 
duties of his office might legally be increased, and even his 
compensation reduced; at the discretion of the Councils. 
They knew that he received the tax lists or hooks, as the 
property jf the Corporation, merely to f\cilitate the exer- 
cise of the duties of his office. When those duties were 
performed or ceased, the reason f;r his retaining the 
books, also ceased ; as in the case between every agent and 
his Principal Even Mr. Ingle's bond pretends to, or 
claims, no definite or specific term of service or office as 
some ipprehended : "\\ hereas the subscriber Joseph In- 
^'sie, hath been duly appointed Collector of the 3d and 4t]i 
"Wards, according to law: Now the condition of this bond 
"is that if the said Joseph Ingle shall faithfully and honestly 
"peforn the duties of the said office, nccord ing to law, then 
"this obligation to be null," &c. We have already seen 
what the law is. The bond runs in perfect harmony with 
it: indeed it is founded on it. Had it been otherwise it 
would have been an attempt as vain as suicidal to contravene 
the most salutary provision of law on a most vitaliy inte- 
resting subject which was always to have a perfect guarantee 
for the '.'fficer and sureties of the faithful collection and pay- 
ment over of the taxes. But had the law relative to Collectors 
ever been, or were it to be ahered, what then ? Whenever an 
alteration is found by experience or deemed to be, for the 
public good, whatever may be the eHect on the officer it 
may be made. The principles of all laws and legislation, 
the daily usage under those of the United States (whetlier 
as to Collectors or other officers) sanction and sustain such a 
practice. In this particular case the law and the bond, not 
to say any thing of the vital interests of the communitv, to- 
gether with general usage from the earliest period of our in- 
coiporation, completely do so. 'i'he Collector is siibjecr. 
to all the laws in force iuhe7i he acts. Kvery individual 
act is to be governed by the law existing at the time of its 
performance. He may resign if he pleases eitlier under 
the old or new laws, should the duties at any time become 
too onerous, unpleasant or unprofitable. Suppose, durins; 
the nominal year for which a ColJeotor is appointed, a now 
2 



10 

•system of collection be adopted, a case that has actually 
occurred with us, and is familiar and common every where, 
either modifyino; or aholishing the office, would then the 
incumbent say I will hold my office, in defiance of you un- 
til my regular term, as it was at the time of my appointment, 
shall expire ; or, in the other case, subject only to the du- 
ties and entitled to the pay as they stood when I received 
the office ? 

j'he power of the Mayor to remove directly is as per- 
fect as that of the Councils to remove indirectly , or to 
modify or abolish. 

Can any expost facto principle or effect be detected ap- 
prehended, as relates to the Register, or any other oflier? 
The above principles must apply. Where can it be? Here 
also I am obliged to grope my way in the dark. It is spe- 
cially proscribed as the legal duty of the Register, "to su- 
perintend the collection of the taxes." If the late Collec- 
tor, regardless of his duty as an officer and of his character 
as a man, should refuse or withhold the tax lists, the Regis- 
ter has the means, the power, and doubtless the disposition 
and it will be his duty, to furnish new ones from the same 
varied, however, and corrected by the previous monthly 
statements or returns of the late Collector. This duty, 
though rather unusual, from the rareness of the case, will 
be perfectly official and consistant with general duty. 

As to the Mayor, it is his general duty "to see that the 
laws be executed." Will he hesitate to prevent, by all the 
legitimate means in his power, any injurious consequences 
from the exercise of a legal right for which he is willing 
to take tlie responsibility ? 

I have endeavored to shew the perfect ^'^legality^' of the 
appointment; with a view to the collections, for the re- 
mainder of the present year; and in doing so, have necessnri- 
ly drawn into the scope of my argument, tlie subject of the 
^^effectnuV' collection, and on that branch will add a few 
reiDarks. If the late collector has as it is fair to presume, 
done his duty in rendering monthly accounts, before his re- 
moval, there can be no dificulty at all, except only as to 
the collections of June last. But admitting that, from 
the want of settlement by Mr Ingle, it is not practicable to 
furnish the new collector with an accurate list of uncollect- 
ed taxes; still, no material injurj^ can arise to the succes- 
sor, to the Corporation, or to the citizen. Whoever pays 
his tax, invariably receives a voucher or acknowledgment 
for It. He is, it is true, liable to be called on again, cither 



11 

by the new or even the old, Collector; but his voucher 
protects him cquali}'^ and perfectly against both. The new 
Collector will call where he has no evidence in hand that 
the tax has been paid. When the receipt or voucher shall 
be produced, his business there will be at an end. 

If a Collector or his representatives were, in any event 
whatever, to lose, destroy, or withhold the books or lists, 
besides that the defaulter would be answerable for conse- 
quences (and we must recollect that a breach of law can 
never be prevented but must be punished,) the Corpora- 
tion or its superintending officers, 1 repeat, would from 
it's own records, and for the original legitimate purpose, 
replace them, or such as would be effectual substitutes? 
Would the City in such a case be dependent on, or sub- 
ject to the obstinacy, perverseness or misconduct, of one 
of its subordinate agents? The dignity and honor of our 
Government, the spirit of our people as well as their 
vital interests, would revolt at the thing. So much as to 
the ^^effcclxuir'' collection. 

But after all, suppose even the possibility of a difficulty 
in the '■'effectuaV collection of the taxes of the 3d and 4th 
wards, whence does it arise ! From a defect in our own 
^'present laivs.^' The taxes we know must be collected. 
Wc are authorised and bound to collect them If, because 
one branch of the Government exercises an indisputable 
right, which in its consequences happens to be disagreea- 
ble to, or disapproved by, a subordinate officer, he, instead 
of being an instrument in the execution of our laws, under- 
takes to thwart and defeat them, and can sui^ceed in doing 
so, I say, respectfull}^ let our laws be amended. Let the 
present defect be supplied. Although the Councils cannot 
alter or disobey the charter, they can modify and improve 
their own laws, according to the lessons of experience and 
practice, so as to carry into complete effect the salutary 
provisions of the former. 

Independent of other considerations, I presume the 
Board, from a correct sense of what is due to itself and to 
every branch of the honorable body of which it is a mem- 
ber, and eminently to the constituent body of our fellow 
citizens, will not sufier the constituted authorities, or either 
of them, to be trifled with. The JMayor has the right to 
remove "at his will and pleasure." The Corporation has 
''full power to lay and collect taxes." He feels that he 
has conscientiously done his duty. And be has every 
confidence that the two boards will do their duty. 



12 

To conclude, the Board knows that the taxes must be 
collected; that theie is now no collector; tha: the Mayor 
and Board of Aldermen can appoint one; that they are 
hv\. ' d to do so. Then let us do it. Not only can it be 
legally done; but it cannot legally be left undoiie. We 
know it is the duty of both of us, under more imperative 
obligations than one, " lawfully and faithfully to execute the 
duties of our offices." The Mayor cannot appoint per- 
manently without the board. He performs, without 
shrinking from, the duty of nominating. They are to ad- 
vise and consent; retaining and exercising the right of 
judging of, and deciding on, the merits of candidates pre 
sented to theia. 

Respectfully submitted, 

JOHN P. VAN NESS, Mayor, 



( 7b be read after the third jyarograph, page Eight. 

It is also ascertained and known, that the usage here- 
tofore has been on appointments to vacancies in the Collec- 
torship, for the Register to supply entire new lists, as in 
the cases of Brumley, Frank, and Coyle. 



TO THE PRINTER: 

Having been requested lo furnish you with a copy of the 
written opinion, which 1 gave to the Mayor on the subject of 
the Collection of the Taxes due from the 3d and 4th Wards, 
(not collected, in consequence of the removal of Mr. Ii;g!e,) 
pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Aldermen ; I fur- 
nish you with the enclosed ; which is not in fact a copy, as 
T preserved no copy thereof; but a transcript of my origi- 
nal notes and rough draft of the opinion in question ; which 
in the final composition varied somewhat, in several respects 
from the original dnuight. The two notes here appended 
were not sent with the written opinion and formed no part 
of it, but have been written since, in consequence of hear- 
ing that the committee to whom that opinion was referred, 
entertained an apprehension that so much of the Act of the 
Corporation of the 12th of October, ISlfci, as directs the 
ward collectors "within 10 days after the expiration of the 
time they shall respectively act as such, to return to the Reg- 
ister the list of Taxes for the preceding year, which had been 
placed in their hands for collection," was virtually repealed 
by the Act of the 24th of May 1822 ; and that it would not 
be the duty of the Register, who is directed by law, on or 
before the first of January in each year, to place in the 
hands of the Collectors of taxes full lists of the taxes due 
in thier respective districts; to receive such lists or make 
out other lists, in the event of the death, resignation or re 
moval of a Collector, until the month of December next. 
To remove, if possible, that apprehension, I have thought 
fit to subjoin those two explanatory notes. 



TO THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF WASHINGTO^'' 

JVashhigfon, Jiugust 18, 1830. 
Sir : I have received your communication, inclosing' 
to me the resolution oi the Board of Aldermen, requesting 
you to lay before that Board, at its next session, the opinion 
of the law officer of the Corporation, as to the power vest 
ed, by the present laws, in the Mayor and Board of Alder- 
men to fill the oifice of Collector of Taxes for the Third and 



14 

Fourth Wards, vacaled by the dismissal of Joseph Inejle, 
late C.iliector; so as let^ally and effectually to provide for 
the collection of the taxes due in said wards, for the remain- 
der of the current year." In dischars;e of nriy duty in that 
behalf, ' be^ leave to submit the following as my deliberate 
opinion upon that sul)jcct. 

In examining the topics, involved in that resolution the 
first question which presents itself \s whether f here be a va- 
cancy in the office of Collector of Tuxes for the Third 
and Fourth Jlards? I have understood that Mr. Ingle, 
about the beginning of the ])resent year, was appointed duly 
to fill thai olhce for the period of one year, which has not 
yet expired, and that the Mayor, by his own authority, re- 
moved him from office about the last of June, and nomina- 
ted another person to the Board of Aldermen, to fill that 
olfice. It appears then that the Mayor has done all in his 
power to make the ofllce vacant and, if he had the legitimi'e 
])ovveror removal, there can be no doubt of the existence 
of such vacancy. As to the power of the Mayor to remove 
Mr. Ingle, from ofiice, there appears to me no reasonable 
cause of doubt : the language of the ('barter of the Corpo- 
ration, approved the 15th of May, 1S20, in section Sd, is 
as foliows, tiie Mayor "shall nominate, and, with the con- 
sent of the Board of Aldermen, appoint to all offices under 
the Cw'2)oraiiun (except Commissioners of Elections) and 
may remove any such ofj'ictr from office at his will and 
pleasure." Here the power of tne Mayor to remove from 
office Mr. Ingle, who was an officer under the Corporation, 
and not a commissioner of elections, is given in the most ex- 
press and unequivocrl terms. The office of Collector of 
Taxes for the Third and Fourth wards is then undeniabl}' 
vacant. 

The next question for consideration, is the power of the 
Mayor and Board of Aldermen to fill the vacancy? On 
this subject the language of the charter, in the same sectiot) 
seems to me to he no less clear and explicit than on the sub- 
ject of the power of removal ; the words are, "he shall ap- 
point persons to fill up all vacancies which may occur dur- 
ing the recess of the Board of Aldermen, to hold such ap- 
pointments until the end of the then ensuing session." The 
power and duty of the Mayor, here expressed, to fill up all 
vacancies which may occur during the recess of the Board 
of Aldermen, necessarily and unavoidably imply the right 
of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, at the next session 
of that Board to fill up such vacancies permanently. The 



15 

only possible reason why Iho JNla) or's appoiiitn.cnl should 
he limited to the end ot' the next session of the Roaid of 
Aldermen, must he that his appoiutnieiit mi^'^ht he apptoved 
of by that Board, oi- vacateil at their first eonverition I h: re- 
after. And it would have been vain and futile to reserve 
that check upon the appointing j)ower of the Mayor, if he 
and the Board of Aldermen together could not exercise that 
power when such convention should take olace. If such 
power did not exist, there would he a necessity, either that 
the officer removed should lelapse into the office, which 
would be defeating the power of the Mtij-or to remove; or 
the office must remain vacant until liic end of the 3 ear, 
which would be contrary to all rules of construction. This 
power, thus conferred upon the Mayor by the charter of 
1820, is the same in its natuie as the powei" conferred by the 
Constitution upon the Presitlent of the United States, of ap- 
pointment to and removal from office; with this oiil^'' dif- 
ference, that the charter grants the power of removal in ex- 
press terms, while the Constitution only grants it by neces- 
sary in)plication. Necessary, because, he has conferred upon 
him the power of making all apjjointmcnts, with the appro- 
bation of the Senate, and is expressly restrained from re- 
moving Judges only, from whicli limitation the power to re- 
move all others is unavoidal)ly implied. The President, 
without an express grant of the power by the constitution, 
has always exercised the ])ower both of removal fi-om of- 
fice at pleasure and of making new appointments; and the 
exercise of these powers has never been called in cpiestion, 
except so far as the right of removal is involved. Some 
doubt, it is true» has been expressed faintly as to ihc Presi- 
dent's power of removal; but I think the right of the Se- 
nate to approve a nomination by the President to fill a va- 
cancy, no matter how created, has never been disputed : 
and, aJ the power of removal exercised by the Mayor can- 
not in reason, i)e a matter of doubt, I cannot perceive hou 
there can be a doubt with regard to the power of making 
an appointment to fill a vacancy thus created. If however, 
there could be a doubt as to the construction of the charter, 
thatdoabt must be immediately dispelled by readingthe or' 
dinance of the Corporation, of -^th November, 1820, which 
speaks on that subject in the following woids : 'Mhaf it shall 
be, and it is hereby declared to be tlie duty of the Mavor, 
on or about the Hrst day of January annuallv, and also 
whenever a vacancy shall happen by death, lesignation, rc- 
•fwval or (yihcrwise,, to nominate, and by and with the ad- 



16 

vice and consent of the Board of Aldermen, appoint one 
discreet person, 4'C- resident of the third and fourth wards, 
as Collector of Taxes in the said wards." Here the power 
of making a vacancy by removal, is expressly recognized, 
and it is made the duty of the Mayor, whenever such va.- 
cancy may happen, to nominate, and by and with the advice 
and consent of the Board of Aldermen to appoint a discreet 
person to fill such vacancy. Can any thing be more clear 
and explicit than this legislative recognition of both the 
powers under investigation ? 

The remaining sijbject of inquiry is whether tlie forego- 
ing powers can be exercised, according to the existing laws 
of the Corporation, in such a manner as legally and effectu- 
ally to provide for the collectian of the t^xes due in the 
Third and Fourth Wards, for the remainder of the current 
year? In the examination of this question it will be neces- 
sary to see what were the duties and obligations of the Col- 
lector, who has been removed before the expiration of the 
year, and how he was compellable to conduct himself during 
his coniinuance in oiiice, anl upon his removal therefrom. 
Every Coliectoi' of Taxes, upon his appointment to office, 
before he can enter upon the duties thereof, is required by 
the existing laws to enter into Bond with sufficient security 
the penalty of which shall be double the amount of the list 
of taxes put into his hand for collection, and the condition 
of which shall be "that if the above bound as Collec- 
tor for the wards of the City shall diligently, faithful- 
ly and honestly execute, perform and fulfil all the duties re- 
quired of him by an act of the City Councils, entitled an 
Act for the appointment of Ward Collectors and for other 
purposes; or which may be imposed on him by any future 
Act or Acts of the said City Councils then the obligation to 
become void," «^c. (See Acts of 30th October, 1815, and 
4th of November, 1S20.) Upon the Collector filing such 
bond with the Register of the City, it is made the duty of 
the Register "to place in the hands of such Collector the 
whole amount of taxes fi)r collection, according to the rules 
prescribed by the laws of the Corporation ;" and upon the 
receipt of such lists of taxes by such Collector from the 
Register ; it is made the duty of the Collector "to do and 
perform all such matters and things as have or may be im- 
posed on tliem by '.he laws of the Corporation, to collect all 
taxes placed in their respective hamis for collection, by the 
Register, and tleposit all monies by them received, on or be- 
fore the first day every montli. in the Banlcof Wj.shington, 



17 

t.o the credit of the ward for which the same shall be re 
ceived" and," on the first ISIonday in every month, return 
to the Register an account of his receipts" under the acts 
of the Corporation. It is further provided tliat the Regis- 
ter shall take from the Collpctors receipts for the lists cf 
taxes placed in their hands for collection, and, by the 3(1 
section of the Act of 12th Oclobor, 1816,* that it '-shall bo 
the duty of said Collectors, loilhin 10 dtiy^ after the eccpl- 
ration of the thne they shull resjjectivi'li/ act as such ; to 
return to the Register the list of taxes for the preceding 
year ; which had been placed in thier hands for collec- 
tion, noting opposite the name of each person on Ihe said 
lists, whether the taxes charged to such person, or any part 
thereof, had been paid, and by whom, and, if not p;ud, the 
reason why, with such other remark, as may be explanatory 
of the case." And the performance of these duties and re- 
quirements is enforced by sundry penalties and disqualifica- 
tions. 

Thus it appears, that by virtue of the existing laws of the 
Corporation, the late Collector of the Third and Fourth 
Wards was bound to give Bond and Sccmity for the faithfid 
performance of his duties, and a receipt for the list of taxes 
put into his hands for collection ; that he was bound to col- 
lect those taxes as far as he could, and dejiosit the money 
collected, on the first of every month, in the Bank of Wash- 
ington, to the credit of the proper waids; and, on the first 
Monday in every month, to account with the Register for 
his receipts; which Register was bound to give him credit 
for all such sums as he may have deposited in bank to the 
credit of the proper wards : and finally that he was bound, 
within ten days after the expiration of the time for which 
he acted as Collector; that is, within ten days after his re- 
moval from office, to return to the Register the list of taxes 
which he had received for collection; meaning necessarily 
the list of taxes for the preceding year, that being the only 
list then in his hands for collection ; shewing what part there- 
of has been collected and what remains still unpaid, togeth- 
er with the reasons why such part has not been paid. If the 
late Collector has performed and fulfilled all those duties and 
requirements, clearly and expressly imposed by the exist- 
ing laws of the Corporation, there is no difficulty in com- 
prehending how his successor may and ought to proceed in 
the legal and effectual collection of the taxes, which remain 
to be collected and which are due and collectible in the cur- 
rent year. It would certainly be the duty of the successor 
3 



IS 

before entering upon the other duties of Ijks office, to file a 
bond with security, as provided by the act of the 4th No- 
vember, 1820; thereupon he would be bound hy that bond 
and the existing laws of the Corporation, and would have 
the full right and authority, to do and perform every thing 
in relation to the collection of the taxes remaining uncol- 
lected, which his predecessor was bound and had authority 
to do and perform in relation to the whole list of taxes which 
was put into his hands for collection by the Register in the 
beginning of the current year; to make similar deposits, at 
Bank, of the monies collected, and to make similar returns 
thereof to the Register; and, in short, the duties and pow- 
ers of the successor would be the same in every respect as 
the predecessor's would have been, if he had continued in 
office until the end of ibe current year. It would also be 
the duty of the Register to receive back the list of t.'xes 
placed in the hands of the late Collector, to settle and adjust 
his account; to ascertain what part of the said taxes liad 
been collected before the removal, and paid into Bank, and 
what part remained due, from whom, and why such taxeshad 
not been paid, and generally to settle with him in the same 
manner as if he had voluntarily resigned his office. That 
business being fully aljusled and the new Collector having 
filed his official bond according to law, it would then be the 
duty of the Register, to place in the hands of the new Col- 
lector the same list of taxes returned by his predecessor, 
noted, credited and balanced as directed by law, so as to 
shew what part of the said taxes remained to be collected, 
and to take his receipt lor such list, in which it should be 
distinctly expressed what amount of the taxes still remained 
due : or the Register might make out a new list, of the un- 
collected taxes only, and place that in the hands of the new 
Collector instead of the original list;t and this last would 
perhaps be the safer course, as some obscurity and difficulty 
might grow out of the same list being successively in the 
hands of two diffijrent collectors, each of whom would have 
been compelled to make written entries and notes upon the 
same : however this evil would only be remotely probable, 
and would be not at all to be apprehended, if the Collectors 
are in the practice of making their entries and notes on the 
tax list in their own hand-writing and those hands-writing 
are distinctly cliaracteristic. 

But it may be asked, if the late Collector should fail to 
fulfd the duties in){)oscd upon him by law, is there' any 
rcmedv at law for euforcinj; sucli fulfilment? If he has 



19 

neglected to reluni the list of taxes for llie last A'car to llie 
Register and settle his account thereof; as req i-fd \)\ the 
3d sec. of the Act of the 12th of October, IS 1 6, and the 1st 
sec. of the act of 1822, and sliall refuse to do so, what law- 
ftdl redress will the Corporation have ap;ainst such default.^ 
'J'o which it may he repiietl that the Corporation will have 
every remedy tliat would be available in the event of the 
death or resignation of a Collector: for a vacancy occasion- 
ed by removal, by 'he act of the Mayor, would not make a 
case at all dilVerent, in point of law, from a vacancy occa- 
sioned by death or resignation. The remciies of the Cor- 
poration and the liabilities of the Collectors or their execu- 
tors, administrators and sureties would, I think, he exactly 
the same. Arid the remedy against a failure to return the 
list of taxes, put into the Collectors hands for collection in 
the current year, would be the same as if the Collector of 
the Taxes, at the end of a year, were to neglect or refuse to 
comply with that requisition of the law, or to settle his ac- 
counts with the Register. For such a neglect or refusal the 
ordinances of the Corporation, so far as my researches have 
gone, furnish but these remedies, to wit : fnst a forfeiture 
of ^100 to the Corporation for neglecting or refusing tore- 
turn the list of taxes put into his hands for collection ; se- 
condly a disability in the officer to fill tlie office of Collec- 
tor for three years, if he neglect or refuse to settle his ac- 
counts with the Register; according to the requirements of 
the Acts of 1816 and 1822; and thirdly a suit to be brought 
on the Collector's B;.nd, according to the provision of the 
Sth sec. of the Act of 7th August, 1812, which last requires 
the Mayor to institute suits upon the Collectoi-s' Bonds, if 
they fail to collect all the taxes, which can be collected, by 
the end of every year. And if it be objected that this pro- 
\ision of the law would not be violated, so as to render the 
suit available, in a case where the Collector was removed 
before the end of the year, and thus prevented from com- 
pleting his collection , it maybe replied, that if the collector 
of the taxes \n) prevented by the neglect or refusal of the 
removed Collector, to do such acts as may be necessary on 
his part, io enable his successor to collect the taxes, the mis- 
chief would be the same as if he should remain the Collec- 
tor and neglect or refuse to collect the taxes, for it would be 
by his default, that the taxes were not collected, and the 
equity of the Act would make him liable for u halever dama- 
ges might be sustained. 

There ore also remedies provided for such a delinquenc\ 



20 

by the coiniiioii law. Tiie list of taxes is the property ot" 
Uie Corporation, and if, the Collector should contumaceous- 
ly wiihold it after the 10 days from the time of his remo- 
val, it might be taken out of his hands by a writ of replev« 
in. Or, upon a bill to account, being filed against the Col 
lector, ijy the Corporation, in a Court of Equity, the Court 
would compel a proiluction of the list into court, where 
eitiier the Original or a copy might be obtained for the 
purposes of the Corporation immediately, and acontumaceous 
Collector would find it exceedingly dillicult to overule the 
power and process of a Court of Chancery. Thus it 
seems to me, even if Mr. Ingle should choose to violate 
Ills duty, which can hardly be expected, as he could gain 
nothing by it and would be sure to incur much trouble and 
expense; that the laws of the Corporation, as they now ex- 
ist, with the assistance of the common law, will furnish to 
the Corporation adequate remedy for any resistance whicii 
may be attempted by Mr Ingle to theeffectual Collection of 
the taxes remaining to be collected. 

But it may be further objected that any or all these reme- 
dies would be slow in their operation, and that, while they 
were working their effect the Corporation would be suffer- 
ing by the taxes being uncollected. And it is true that such 
difficulty might occur in this as in all other cases when re- 
sort must necessarily be had to the agency of Courts of 
law. This however is a necessary evil growing out of the 
wise caution of our system of jurisprudence, which will 
never suffer the tribunals to settle and adjust disputes, 
without affording all parties ample opportunity to bring be- 
fore the Court the whole merits of their causes. One 
propitious rem.edy however is at hand, which will effec- 
tually obtain the object without much expenditure of 
time or labor; and that is for the register to make out an 
entire new list of the taxes for the current year in the third 
and fourth wards, noting what taxes have been paid, as far 
as he can ascertain from the returns already made to him 
by the late Collector; and place such list in the hands of the 
new Collector for collection, who might call upon all the 
persons charged with taxes in the two wards; and where 
they may have paid their taxes to the former Collector, give 
them credit, according to the receipts which they hold or the 
evidence which they may be able to produce of the payment 
of the taxes to the former collector. And, in a suit brought 
on the Collector's bond, proof would be admissable of all 
sums received by him and not accounted for and paid over 



21 

to the Bank. And if any person on the tax list cannot 
shew that he has paid his taxes to the former Collector be- 
fore his removal, he will be liable to pay the same again to 
the Corporation. 

Respectfully, your Obedient Servant, 

HENRY ASHTON. 



NOTES. 

* It may be apprehended by some, that this provision of the Act ol' 
the 12t!i of October 1816 has bein repealed In' the provisions of the Act 
of 21th May 1822: but upon a critical examination of the provioions of 
these acts, it will be found, that in this particular, there is no conflict 
between the two acts. The first j)rovides that, within ten days after the 
expiration of the term of ofTice, tlic Collector, shall return to tiie Uepjister 
the list of taxes for tlie lust year, put into their hands for collection: no- 
tins^ thereon what has bec^i done in relation to tlie collection of those 
tuxcs and what I'emains yet. to be done. The latter provides "that it 
ihall be the duty .if the several Colkctorj of taxes in the City of Wash- 
ing-ton, to render, on or before the 1st of December, in each year, to the 
lleg-ister, their respective' accounts, sliewinp the whole amount Collected- 
and from whom, the amount deposited in the City Treasury, the amount 
of taxes uncollected and by whom due, and the reasons wj^y such taxes 
have r.ot been collected. Here there dots not appear to be any serious 
confiict, the last act not toueiiing' the immediate subject of the forego- 
in;^ provision, for the return of the lists of taxes. The two pro\i9'ons 
do not indeed seem to relate to the same subject matter: for by the first 
nothing is intended or directed b\it a return of the list of taxes, put in- 
to the hands of tlie Collectors, while the hitter, not touching that subject 
at all, intends and directs /.mly the settlement of tlie Collectors accounts; 
a thing also provided for in the same section of th.- Act of 1816 in the 
following words, "and it shall also be their dutv, within the said 
period often days, to settle their res])ective acco\mts with the Register!" 
Here is the only point of coutiict between the ;ld .section of the Act of 
1816 and the fir.st section of the Act of 1822, the first making it thc- 
duty of the Collectors to settle with llie Hegisler by the lO'.h (Uy after 
the end of the term of office ; the last requiring them to render their 
accounts on or before the first d;iy of December in each year. It is tnie 
that the Act of 1822 speaks of the accounts to be rendered prcl'y much 
much in the .s:mie terms as those, »ised by the Act of 1816 in re!:ltion to 
the lists of taxes to be returned: but the accounts must be pi'ettv 
of the same character with, and be very much like the list oi' tuxes, and 
therefore the mention of one in the like terms as the olh.er cunnotbe 
strained to make them the same. Two things howeover much alike are 
not the .same, for the latin maxim is, "'nullHti "tvi/'c enc idni.'' 

Rut for the sake of the argument, let it !/e con-^iJMvd tliat the provj. 
slon of the act of 1822 about the settlem.eiit of accounts, are in relation 
to the same subject, "im peri materia" yet it by no means follows tli.vt 
the former is repealed by the latter, for eitiier may h(» complied with. 



22 

without toucliing the oihev: llius the list uiav lie returned without set- 
tling tile account or the account may be settled without returning the list; 
for it is the Collectors account that is to be rendered by virtue of the 
Act of 1822, which may by possibillity, be different from the list of tax- 
<'S put into 'lis hands for colic ct'on; and thus the Collector might comply 
with the requisition of the Act by rendering his account, and refuse to returi^ 
to the U'_gister the list of taxes ; wiiercby he might be unable to ascertain 
how the Collectors accounts were to be settled. And, even supposing 
that tlie Ac' of 182i iiieant tht:- same tiling by rendering their accounts, 
as the act c;:' 1816 meant by recuming the list of taxes, yet the conflict 
would not be so direct or plain as to implij a repeal. Tlie rule of law 
a1)out construction in such cases is that if two statutes be passed 
on the same subject providing different methods of proceedings, and 
different penalties, tliey shall not be considcied as repc^aling but cumula- 
tive acts, unless tlii-re be a clear design expressed by the legislature, to 
repeal the former statute, or there be a plain and manifest repugnancy be- 
tween the two. On this head see (Bacon's Abridgement, vol. 6, page 
?u^ title statute,) where the principles are thus stated. "Subsequent 
statutes, whicli add accumulative penalties, and institute new methods 
of proceeding, do not n p .al fonner statutes without negative words. 
Nor hath a later act of Parliiuent ever been construed to repeal a 
pryor act unless there be a contraiiety or repugnancy in them, or at least 
some notice taken in the latter law of the pr::ceeding one, so as to indi- 
cate an iiitention in the law malcers to repeal it. Neither is a law re- 
cited in a statute, without a clause of repeal, sufficient to repeal the pos- 
itive provisions of a former statute. Aga.n, in the same page, 
the law does not favor a repeal by implication, nor is it to be al- 
lowed, unless the repugnancy be quite plain, for as such repeal carries 
with it a reflection upon the v. isdom of the former Legislature, it has 
ever been confined to the repealing as little as possible of the preceding 
statute. Again in the same page. "Although two acts of parliament 
are seemingly repugnant, yet, if there be no clause of "/zort ■ibsionte," in 
the latter, t.iey sh.^dl, if possible, have such construction, that the latter 
may not be a repeal of the former by inijilication." Now; to apply these 
principles to tlie case in hand; the Act of 1816 has provided for the re- 
turn of the tax lists to the Register b}- the Collectors, within ten days af- 
ter the expiration of their tune of serving in the office. The Act of lb22, 
provides that tlie Collectors, on or before the first day of every Decem- 
ber sliall render their accounts to the Register: The first under a penal- 
ty of SlOO, the latter under the penalty of three years disability to sei-ve 
in the office. In the the Act of 1822 there is no clause of repeal nor 
any ";ion instonti." so tliat there cannot be ullcdged any repeal of the 
Act of 1816 except by imphcation. As to repeals by implication 
we have seen that they ai'e not favored by the law and that they can-;ot 
be allowed, unless the repugnancy be quite plain, and we have further 
seen that subsequent statutes, wliich add accumulative penalties and insti- 
tute new methods of proceeding, do not repeal former penalties and 
methods of providing, ordained by other statutes, without negative 
words. But to make tlie most of it, the Act of of 1822 adds accumula- 
tive penalties and institutes new methods of proceeding; without a sin- 
gle negative expression as to the penalties and methods of proceedii.g 
ordered by the Act of 1816. Again it must be admitted that if this 
provision, of the Act of 1816 be repealed, there would be no adequate 
remedy left or subserjuently provided, or contained in the act of 1822 
against a failure to retiu'n the tax list or make any settlement before 
the 1st of December, in any case of vacancy created by death, 
resignation or removal w Vch would !!0t on!)' be a reflection on the 
wisdom of the former L islature of the Corporation, but are aii W'U) 
iiavc legislated on that subject since: There cannot therefore remain 



23. 

any reasonable apprehension of a repeal of the Act of the 12th of Octo- 
ber 1816 on tlie subj; ct of t'ne rctin-n of tlie tax lists, wtiiin ten dav« 
after the Collectors ci aso to hold their offircs. 

f If there be any doubt concerning- the duty, of the Rcg^istcr to re- 
ceive the tax list from an cx-Colleclor upon his i^oing- out of otiice, be- 
fore the first of December, or to deliver tou new Collector, appointed in 
the middle of the ) ear, a list of tlie taxes to be collected in the district of 
tJie new Collector, at any time when it may be nec< ssaiy, without rcg-ard 
to the first of January mentioned in the Acts of the Corporation; that 
doubt must vanish upon reading- the 4tli sec. of tiie Act of tlie 4th of 
Apnl 1815 entitled an Act to authorize the appohitmcnt oi' a Kegister, 
an-l wherein it is provided as follows: it shall be the the duty of the Re- 
gister "to superintend the collection of all caxes and monies due" to the 
Corporation. Can it be possible, seriously to think tliat he, who has in- 
trusted to him the duty of superintend'ng- the collection of taxes, could 
doubt ab.-.utits beirg his duty to jiut into the haiui o;" the Collector the 
voucae;-: , without wl.ich he could not in the nature of tilings make any col- 
lectiovis. Surely it can require no argument to pr<)\e that the Register, 
who is the only person having the means of doing it, is bound by every 
honest consideravion to furnish any Collector with a list of taxes bv him 
to be coll cted, whenever neci ssary, to criable him to perform that duty 
whether that necessity proceeded from the loss of a former l\f.\. bv him, 
or any other unavoidable calamity, or the contumacy of an ex-Collecto;-. 



TO R. S. COXE, ESQ. 

Washiiigton, *^vgnst, 2G//i, 1830. 

Dr.AR Sir: Having; more than once had the satisfaction 
to understand, and infer from what you said in conversation, 
your opinion on the questions now agitated in our Cit}- 
Councils, and particularly in ourlJoard of Aldermen, whetii- 
er the Mayor has the ri^ht to remove any incumbent in the 
office of Collector of Taxes? Whether he and the Board 
of Aldermen have a ri<i;ht, upon his nomination and their 
confirmation, to fill the vacancy? and whether the succes- 
sor can as legally and efi'ectually collect the remainder of the 
taxes standing on the list pl'iced in the hands of the prede- 
cessor, as the latter could himself have done had he not 
been removed ? I will thank you ifyou will be so obliging, 
in order to enable me to decide whether I understood you 
correctly, as to write me, in answer hereto, your oj)inion ; 
and further, whether, by any act of legislation, the Councils 
can, cither directly or indirectly, commit or assign the col- 
lection of those taxes to any other person than one nomi- 
nated by the Mayor and confirmed by the Board of Alder- 
men ? 

I will, of course, not trouble you for a formal or argu- 
mentative opinion : — but a brief reply in the course of the 
morning will oblige Your obedient serv't. 

JOHN P. VAX NESS. 



24 
TO JOHN p. VAN NESS, ESQ. 

IFashington, August 2Gth, 1830. 

Dear Sir : I have had the pleasure to receive yourcom- 
^lutiication of this morning. It has been my wish to avoid 
all public and gratuitous interference in the questions upon 
which so much diversity of opinion appears to exist among 
the City Authorities; but I have not scrupled, as a private 
citizen, whenever an opportunity presented itself, frankly* 
and fully to state my opinions to my friends, whether they 
difibred or concurred in my views. I cannot have any ob- 
jection to communicate more precisely and distinctly to you 
in writing, what I have more than once done orally. 

I entertain no doubt but that under the 3d section of the 
charter of the City, the Mayor has a full and absolute power 
and right of removing a Collector of Taxes from his office, 
and I have never heard this right denied or questioned. It 
appears to me as clear of doubt that the Mayor is equally 
entitled to nominate and with the consent of the Board of 
Aldermen, to appoint another person to fill the vacant of- 
fice; this also I have never heard disputed. It is equally 
clear to my mind that the person thus appointed to this of- 
fice upon the removal of the former incumbent, is invested 
with all the powers of his predecessor, and bound to per- 
form all the duties which remain to be performed when such 
predecessor was removed, and consequently that he may le- 
gally and effectually coilect the residue of the taxes standing 
on the list placed in the hands of his predecessor, as fully 
as said predecessor could have done had he not been re- 
moved. Upon the last question proposed I am very clearly 
of opinion that under the charter an act of the two councils, 
^vhich should not only create an office but designate the in- 
dividual who should discharge its duties, without a nomina- 
tion and appointment by the Mayor, whether such designa- 
tion be by naming the person, or referring to him by any 
description, as, for instance, as the person holding any other 
office, would be an assumption, by the legislative power, of 
executive functions not warranted by the charter. 

If I have correctly apprehended your interrogatories the 
foregoing embraces a distinct answer to each of them, and 
upon the last, I understand, that in an analogous case the Su- 
preme Court has given its sanction to the opinion I have 
expressed. Yours, t^c. 

RICHARD S. COXE, 



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